Knights Templar linked to gap in history of Shroud of Turin

April 06, 2009

A remarkable article in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano has traced the Shroud of Turin to the Knights Templar. Historian Barbara Frale reports that the Knights kept the Shroud after the Crusades, and new members venerated (not "worshipped," as the Telegraph headline inaccurately says) the cloth as part of their initiation ceremonies. The Knights Templar-- one of the earliest and most powerful military orders in the Catholic world-- were suppressed in the early 14th century; their history remains riddled with legends and controversies. Among the rumors circulated against the Knights Templar by their enemies was the tale that they worshipped a bearded man. Although that story could be taken as a reference to the image on the Shroud, the image of a face on the cloth did not clearly appear until it was shown by a photographic negative several centuries after the Knights Templar were suppressed.

The history of the Shroud of Turin is also surrounded by both mystery and controversy. The

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Knights Templar worshipped the Turin Shroud (Daily Telegraph)
• Knights Templar hid the Shroud of Turin, says Vatican (Times)

(Source: Catholic Culture)

Zenit: Turin Shroud to be on Display in 2010

Turin Shroud to be on Display in 2010

Pope Hopes to Visit Relic

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Shroud of Turin, a cloth widely believed to be the burial linen of Jesus, will be put on exposition in the spring of 2010, announced Benedict XVI.

The Pope divulged the news today upon receiving in audience some 7,000 faithful from the Archdiocese of Turin. Prior to the audience, Cardinal Severino Poletto, archbishop of Turin, had celebrated Mass for the pilgrims in St. Peter's Basilica.

In his address to the pilgrims, the Holy Father noted that in the Archdiocese of Turin, the next pastoral year will be dedicated to the Word of God, while 2010 "will see you oriented toward a more attentive contemplation of the Passion of Christ."

In this context, he announced that he had accepted the wishes of the archbishop of Turin and that "in the spring of 2010 there will be another 'solemn exposition of the Shroud.'"

The last time the shroud was put on display was in 2000. In the 20th century, the linen was displayed only four times.

"If the Lord gives me life and health, I too hope to come," he added off-the-cuff, reported the Vatican Information Service.

The exposition, he continued, "will provide an appropriate moment to contemplate that mysterious face which silently speaks to the hearts of men, inviting them to recognize therein the face of God."

The shroud, measuring 4.39 meters in length and 1.15 meters in width (14.5 feet by 3.5 feet), is kept in a climate-controlled urn in the chapel of the Turin cathedral.